1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to air conditioner cabinets with refrigerant evaporators therein and of structural arrangements thereof accommodating multiple dispositions of the cabinets.
2. Description of Prior Art
The type of air conditioner unit which will be used as an example for purposes of describing the invention basically includes a cabinet, a refrigerant evaporator coil therein, a fan or blower unit for creating a draft of air through the cabinet, electrical components and controls and in some cases supplemental electric heat elements. Each of the spaces occupied by these elements noted may require access thereto and accordingly access panels are typically provided to form one face of the cabinet.
Depending upon the particular building construction in which the air conditioning unit is to be installed, it is desirable that a given unit be adaptable to either an up-flow application, in which the air passes upwardly through the unit which is in a vertical disposition, or in a horizontal application in which the unit is disposed horizontally and the air passes horizontally through the unit. In the horizontal application the unit may be installed in an attic, for example, in which access to the interior is preferably had by removing panels from the top face of the unit; or in the horizontal application the unit may be attached to the ceiling so that it is preferable that the access panels be on the bottom of the unit. One problem which arises with units of this type which can be installed in various different dispositions is that the moisture which condenses upon the cold evaporator coil must be handled and collected and passed to a drain.
This problem has of course been recognized in the air conditioning field and air conditioning units adapted for different dispositions have been disclosed and are in commercial use.
For example, both U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,596,475 and 3,299,660 teach air conditioning units in which the units may be installed in either a vertical disposition or in a horizontal disposition. However, in the case of the horizontal disposition, the units may be installed in only one orientation; that is, they may not be installed in an upside down position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,315 discloses an air conditioning unit which may only be installed in a vertical disposition, but it may be turned upside down in the vertical disposition by removing the evaporator coil and reinstalling it in a different orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,993 teaches an air conditioning unit which has a plurality of interchangeable side, top and bottom panels which may be shifted to permit air flow in any of various directions without repositioning of the heat exchange coil.
With respect to the teachings of these patents and any other prior art of which we are aware, our arrangement possesses the distinct advantage of being applicable in a horizontal position with either the front or the rear face up to permit access to the unit from the desired direction, without requiring any panel interchange, and also does not require removal of the evaporator coil from the unit for reorientation.